Letter to Board of Education

	Letter to Board of Education

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Dear School Board Members,

We the undersigned are writing to urge the State Board of Education not to approve the revised Health Education Standards as currently written. Six standards as detailed below need to be revised or deleted entirely. Otherwise, the proposed standards should not be passed. These standards introduce values that are not acceptable to the majority of the parents of the children being served. The promotion of contraception to 7^th grade students, and the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity beginning in 6^th grade is completely unacceptable to the great majority of parents and students. Furthermore, more time is needed to allow parents to respond, as there has been insufficient input from parents.

The proposed standards lack an overarching directive approach that seeks the best for our youth by encouraging them to abstain from sex before marriage. Youth should be asked, encouraged and supported to live up to the highest standards, not expected to fall to the lowest ones.

According to the 2005 YRBSS, 52% of District of Columbia high school youth have never had sexual intercourse, a 16 percent increase in abstaining youth in just two years! Furthermore, 76% of District of Columbia middle school students have never had sexual intercourse, a 9 percent increase in abstaining youth in just two years. Shouldn’t we encourage this positive trend, instead of rushing to provide ever more condoms (like the 1,000,000 condoms campaign) to any one who wants one.

We need a bold new approach with health standards that encourage youth to live up to the highest, character based standard. Furthermore, DCPS should encourage and fund programs that support youth who are striving to achieve these high standards.

The introduction of the six standards below are a part of an effort to prevent programs that provide directive, character based education from operating in DC public schools. For example, one parent prodded the Principal of Stuart-Hobson Middle School to invite the City Year program to come to Stuart-Hobson. City Year is a so called comprehensive sex education program, that includes discussion of contraception methods for 7^th and 8^th grade youth. Now the same parent wants the ULTRA Teen Choice program to be excluded. The parents opposing the ULTRA Teen Choice program are not racially representative of the school, which has an 87% black population. Furthermore, many of them do not even have children at Stuart-Hobson, since the Local School Restructuring Team (LSRT) is for all of the Capitol Hill Cluster Schools which serve children as young as age three.

Here are six draft standards that need to be deleted or modified:

6^th grade: Sexuality, Reproduction, and Health
6.1.6 Explain that people, regardless of biological sex, gender, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and culture, have sexual feeling and the need for love, affection and physical intimacy. Change this to:

6.1.5 Explain that people have sexual feelings and the need for love, and that it is normal to have these feelings, but that sex should occur only within marriage.

7^th grade Sexuality, Reproduction, and Health
7.1.7 Analyze the social, cultural, religious, and legal factors that influence the choice and use of contraception; and discuss the importance of consistent and effective contraceptive use. The expected standard for middle school youth is abstinence. Parents, not DCPS, should decide whether consistent and effective use of contraception is the preferred method of prevention for their children.. This standard should be deleted entirely.
8^th Grade Sexuality, Reproduction, and Health
8/1.5 Define sexual orientation, using correct terminology, and explain that as people grow and develop, they may begin to feel romantically and or sexually attracted to people of a different gender and/or to people of the same gender This discussion is wholly inappropriate for a public school setting. Parents should be the ones to decide to introduce these topics, not DCPS. This standard should be deleted entirely.
8.1.6 Compare and contrast the theories about what determines sexual orientation including genetics; prenatal, social, and cultural influences; psychosocial factors; and a combination of all of these. Again, this is absolutely inappropriate for public school students. Scientific evidence does not provide any consensus at all on this topic, and the most important factor for many people, which is their religious convictions, should not be included in a public school environment. The decision to discuss or not discuss this topic should be left solely to parents. This standard should be deleted entirely.
9^th grade Human Growth and Development
9.1.5 Analyze trends in teen pregnancy rates, teen births, contraceptive practices and the availability of abortion This standard needs to be changed to:
9.1.5 Analyze trends in teen pregnancy rates, teen births, plus YRBSS data showing that the majority of high school students have never had sexual intercourse. Discuss why abstinence from all sexual activity outside of marriage is the only 100% sure way to prevent STIs, pregnancy, and social and emotional consequences of sexual relationships.

Signed,